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Here are some notes and a statistical update on Dallas Stars prospects playing junior hockey, in Europe and in college.

Juniors

*The playoffs are underway in Canadian juniors. RW Brett Ritchie (second round/2011) had one goal and one assist as Niagara opened its first round OHL series with an 8-2 victory over Oshawa. Niagara leads the series 2-1. Ritchie has one goal and two assists in three games. D Jamie Oleksiak (1st round/2011) has no points in three games for Niagara.

*Stars prospects RW Matej Stransky (sixth round/2011) and D Alex Theriau (4th round/2010) are meeting in the WHL playoffs. Theriau’s Medicine Hat Tigers lead Stransky’s Saskatoon Blades 2-0 in the series. Theriau has one assist through two games and Stransky has one assist in two games as well.

*D Troy Vance (fifth round/2011) has one assist in two games for Victoriaville in the QMJHL playoffs. Victoriaville trails Baie-Comeau 2-0 in the series.

Europe

*D Patrik Nemeth (second round/2010) and D John Klingberg (fifth round/2010) are meeting in the second round of the Swedish Elite League playoffs. Nemeth’s AIK team has a 1-0 lead in the series. Nemeth has one assist and a plus-one rating in six playoff games so far, but he has a foot injury and is not expected to play in the next game. Klingberg has been out with an injury, but is said to be close to a return.

College

*F Reilly Smith (third round/2009), F Alex Chiasson (2nd round/2009) and F Alex Guptill (second round/2010) were all knocked out of the NCAA tournament over the weekend. As has been widely reported, Smith signed an entry-level deal with Dallas and has joined the Stars on its current road trip. Chiasson signed an entry-level deal and will play the rest of the season with the Texas Stars of the AHL. Guptill will be a sophomore at Michigan next season.

*Dallas draft pick Nico Sacchetti (second round/2007) is still playing in the tournament since his Minnesota team advanced to the Frozen Four.

Here are some notes and a statistical update on Dallas Stars prospects playing junior hockey, in Europe and in college.

Junior hockey

*G Jack Campbell (1st round/2010) wrapped up his junior career and is now heading to the Texas Stars, where he could see some action soon. Campbell played his last junior game for Sault Ste. Marie (OHL) on Saturday, allowing nine goals in a game against Windsor, but his team won 10-9. Campbell finished the season 21-15-7, with a 3.46 goals against average, .896 save percentage and two shutouts.

*D Jamie Oleksiak (1st round/2011) and RW Brett Ritchie (2nd round/2011), who both play for Niagara of the OHL, are headed for the Ontario League playoffs, where they will play Oshawa. Ritchie, who ended the season on a four-game points streak (3 goals, 2 assists), had 24 goals and 21 assists in 53 games. Oleksiak was a plus-10 over his last seven games. He ended the regular season with 32 points (12 goals, 20 assists) and a plus-31 rating in 59 games.

*RW Matej Stransky (6th round/2011) ended the regular season on a six game points streak (4 goals, 11 assists) for Saskatoon of the WHL. Stransky finished the season with 81 points (39 goals, 42 assists) in 70 games. Saskatoon’s first round playoff series is against Medicine Hat, which features Dallas draft pick Alex Theriau (4th round/2010).

*D Troy Vance (5th round/2011) finished the regular season with 24 points (4 goals, 20 assists) and a plus-17 rating in 57 games for Victoriaville of the QMJHL. Victoriaville plays Baie-Comeau in the first round of the playoffs.

College

*F Austin Smith (5th round/2007) wrapped up his college career over the weekend as Colgate finished fourth in the ECAC tournament. The Dallas native is expected to head to the Texas Stars once a contract with the Dallas Stars is finalized. Smith finished the season with 36 goals and 21 assists in 39 games. He is among the 10 finalists for the Hobey Baker Award and was named the ECAC Player of the Year.

*RW Reilly Smith (3rd round/2009) had 3 goals and 2 assists in two CCHA games for Miami University over the weekend. Smith, who has 30 goals and 18 assists in 38 games, is among the ten finalists for the Hobey Baker Award. Miami lost in the semifinals of the CCHA Tournament, but is headed to the NCAA tournament as the 5th seed. Miami, which also features Dallas prospect Curtis McKenzie (6^th round/2009) plays 12th seeded Massachusetts-Lowell in the East Regional on Friday.

*RW Alex Chiasson (2nd round/2009) scored one goal, but Boston University lost to Maine in the semifinals of the Hockey East Tournament. Chiasson now has 15 goals and 29 assists in 37 games. BU is the 9th seed in the NCAA Tournament and will play 8th seeded Minnesota (and fellow Dallas draft Nico Sacchetti) in the West Regional on Saturday.

*LW Alex Guptill (3rd round/2010) had one assist in two CCHA tournament games for Michigan, which lost in the championship game to Western Michigan. Guptill, who has 16 goals and 17 assists in 40 games, was named the CCHA’s Rookie of the Year. Michigan is the 2nd seed in the NCAA Tournament and plays 13th seeded Cornell in the Midwest Regional on Friday.

Europe

*D Patrik Nemeth (2nd round/2010) had one goal and a plus-one rating in five games as AIK beat Lulea in the first round of the Swedish Elite League playoffs. AIK now advances to the semifinal round of the playoffs.

*D John Klingberg (5th round/2010) has no points and a minus-two rating in four games for Skelleftea, which leads its first round series against MODO, 3-2.

Here are some notes and a statistical update on Dallas Stars prospects playing junior hockey, in Europe and in college.

*D Jamie Oleksiak (1^st round/2011) had 4 points (1 goal, 3 assists) and a plus-7 rating in Niagara’s (OHL) 11-0 win over Mississauga last Thursday. Oleksiak is currently riding a three-game points streak, his first of the season, and has 2 goals, 4 assists and a plus-9 rating during that stretch.

*RW Brett Ritchie (2^nd round/2011) has points in 9 of his last 11 games for Niagara (OHL) and has 12 points (8 goals, 4 assists) during that stretch.

*RW Matej Stransky (6^th round/2011) had 3 goals and 2 assists in 4 games for Saskatoon (WHL) over the past week. Stransky has 60 points (31 goals, 29 assists) in 55 games and leads Saskatoon in goals and points.

RW Alex Chiasson (2^nd round/2009) has points in 10 of his last 11 games for Boston University and has 17 points (6 goals, 11 assists during that stretch. Chiasson, a junior, is tied for team lead in scoring with 29 points (11 goals, 18 assists) in 26 games.

RW Reilly Smith (3^rd round/2009) has points in 11 of his last 14 games for Miami University and has 16 points (10 goals, 6 assists) during that stretch. Smith, a junior, is tied for second in the nation in goal scoring with 21 in 30 games.

F Austin Smith (5^th round/2007) had a goal in each of Colgate’s games over the weekend. Smith, a senior, leads the nation with 32 goals in 30 games and is third in the nation with 47 points.

*D Troy Vance (5^th round/2011) returned to action for Victoriaville (QMJHL) after missing time with a hip injury.

*F Scott Winkler (3^rd round/2008) has been out with an upper body injury for Colorado College.

Here are some notes and a statistical update on Dallas Stars prospects playing junior hockey, in Europe and in college.

*F Austin Smith (5^th round/2007) scored four goals in Colgate’s 8-3 victory over RPI Saturday. Smith, a senior, now has 30 goals and 15 assists in 28 games this season and leads the nation in goals and ranks second in points.

*RW Alex Chiasson (2^nd round/2009) has points in eight of his last nine games for Boston University and has 13 points (5 goals, 8 assists) during that stretch. Chiasson, a junior, has 27 points (10 goals, 17 assists) in 25 games.

*RW Brett Ritchie (2^nd round/2011) has six goals over the last six games for Niagara of the Ontario Hockey League. Ritchie has 26 points (14 goals, 12 assists) in 36 games this season, playing for both Niagara and Sarnia of the OHL this season.

*C Emil Molin (4^th round/2011) scored his first career Swedish Elite League goal over the past week. Molin has 4 points (1 goal, 3 assists) in 28 games with Brynas of the SEL this season.

*D Troy Vance (5^th round/2011) remains out with a hip injury for Victoriaville of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.

Here are some notes and a statistical update on Dallas Stars prospects playing junior hockey, in Europe and in college.

Here are some notes and a statistical update on Dallas Stars prospects playing junior hockey, in Europe and in college.

*RW Reilly Smith (3rd round/2009) was named Inside College Hockey’s National Player of the Week after scoring four goals as Miami University swept a two-game series from then-eighth ranked Western Michigan. Smith, a junior, had a hat trick in one of the games and scored the game-winner in each contest. Smith, who has 18 goals in 24 games, is tied for third in the nation in goal scoring and leads the nation with 7 game-winning goals.

*F Austin Smith (5th round/2007) scored had two goals and one assist in two games over the weekend. Smith now has 38 points (24 goals, 14 assists) in 24 games for Colgate. Smith, a senior, leads the nation in goal scoring and is tied for second in points.

*LW Alex Guptill (3rd round/2010) scored a goal in both games he played for the University of Michigan this week, running his goal scoring streak to five games. Guptill has 26 points (14 goals, 12 assists) in 28 games and leads the nation in rookie goal scoring and points.

*RW Alex Chiasson (2nd round/2009) has points in seven of his last eight games for Boston University and has 11 points (3 goals, 8 assists) during that stretch. Chiasson, a junior, has 23 points (8 goals, 15 assists) in 21 games this season.

*D Jamie Oleksiak (1st round/2011) had three assists and RW Brett Ritchie (2nd round/2011) had one goal and one assist as Niagara routed Peterborough 9-0 in OHL play on Sunday. Oleksiak has four assists over the last two games for Niagara and Ritchie has one goal and three assists over the last three games.

*D Troy Vance (5th round/2011) has been out with a hip injury for Victoriaville of the QMJHL.

*D John Klingberg (5th round/2010) has left Jokerit of the Finnish Elite League and is now playing for Skelleftea of the Swedish Elite League. He has played one game in Sweden and has no points.

Here are some notes and a statistical update on Dallas Stars prospects playing junior hockey, in Europe and in college.

*Goaltender Jack Campbell (first round/2010) stopped all 28 shots he faced in his first appearance of the season as Windsor defeated fellow Stars prospect Brett Ritchie’s Sarnia Sting, 2-0, Sunday night. It was Campbell’s first regular season OHL shutout.

*On Friday night, Ritchie (second round/2011) had one goal and two assists as Sarnia opened its season with a 5-2 victory over the Erie Otters.

*Defenseman Troy Vance (fifth round/2011) has one goal and a plus-five rating in four games so far this season with Victoriaville of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.

*Defenseman John Klingberg (fifth round/2010) has three points (one goal, two assists) in five games with Jokerit of Finland’s SM-Liiga.

*Note: The college season has not yet started.

A few Saturday tidbits for a Saturday morning:

*The latest issue of The Hockey News is out and the publication is handing out grades for what NHL teams have done so far this offseason. The Stars got a C+, which tied them for 19^th among the 30 teams when all the grades were listed from top to bottom. Here’s what THN had to say about the Stars:

The Brad Richards role will be filled by committee. Jamie Benn will see his responsibility increase in Dallas, while free agent right wingers Michael Ryder and Radek Dvorak were brought in to bolster an offense that was middling even with Richards in the lineup. New D-man Sheldon Souray’s booming point shot will also help.

*THN gave the Stars a grade of B for the draft, which tied them for 10^th among the NHL teams. THN noted the Stars going with size in this year’s draft with players such as Jamie Oleksiak, Troy Vance and Brett Ritchie.

*Hockey Prospectus is rolling out rankings of each NHL team’s prospects this summer and that site's rankings are different than most you'll see. It ranks right wing Reilly Smith as the Stars’ top prospect. Goalie Jack Campbell, who is at the top of most lists, ranks ^7th. Not on the top 10 list but listed as a sleeper by Hockey Prospectus is forward Matt Fraser. The article on the Dallas prospects is subscription only, but you can see the prospect rankings here. In reading the analysis of the prospects, these rankings appear to be based on the player's ultimate potential and not where he is right now on the development curve. Among the NHL teams, the Stars are ranked 28^th as far as prospects.

*Dallas Stars defenseman Alex Goligoski is on Twitter. You can find him here: @gollygoose33

Here are some thoughts on the just concluded Dallas Stars development camp in McKinney.

*People with the Stars and those who were on the ice with the players said it was the most impressive group they’ve had at one of these development camps and definitely one of the most skilled. I have to agree. As a group, it was pretty impressive. The Stars have some good prospects in the pipeline in all areas. The goaltending group is very good, the group of defensemen has improved over the past few years and there are some talented forwards with some offensive upside.

*As I say every year, I don’t read a ton into what I see at development camp. You aren’t seeing the players in game situations. A lot of these drills are challenging them and they’ll struggle with them at times. But you can pick up some things about them by watching and talking to people. And I’ll be honest, I watch some players more than others. Also, players are at different stages of their development. I don’t look at Player X vs. Player Y, but how Player X looks today vs. Player X a year ago or two years ago if he’s been around a bit. If he’s a new guy, it’s a first impression.

Anyway, here are some thoughts on some of the players at the camp, not all of them. This is based on watching them play in gaes, observations at the various camps and talking to people. I’ll discuss them by position.

GOALTENDERS

Jack Campbell, G: He looked good in the camp. He can be spectacular at times. He got off to a rough start in juniors last season, but he was great at the World Juniors and finished the season strong at Windsor. Campbell seemed to learn some lessons from last season, and that’s a good thing. He’s probably going to play in Windsor again next season and then turn pro after that. The debate over whether the Stars should have drafted Cam Fowler instead gives me a headache. The Stars drafted Campbell, so the focus should be on Campbell. He looks like a very good goaltending prospect and the Stars are going to be patient with his development, and they should be.

Tyler Beskorowany, G: He looked in camp as well. He usually looks good every time I watch him. He’s got great size and he’s coming off a very impressive first professional season. He was outstanding in the ECHL and played well as a backup to Richard Bachman in the AHL. He’s going to play in Texas again next season. He sort of gets overshadowed now that Campbell is in the system, but he is a really good prospect.

DEFENSEMEN

Brenden Dillon, D: The Stars signed him as a free agent out of the AHL late last season; he finished the season with the Texas Stars and was impressive. He played in key situations during the Calder Cup playoffs, which says a lot about a player coming right out of junior hockey. He has good size, mobility, a good shot and defends well. He’s a late bloomer. He looked fine in the camp and is close to the NHL. How close? Time will tell.

Jamie Oleksiak, D: The first round pick (14^th overall) in this summer’s draft was impressive. He’s 6-7, 244 pounds, skates well and moves the puck well. Has a hard shot, too. He’s still got a ways to go in his development, but you have to like where he is right now. He’s a mature kid too and handled the questions about whether he would play next season at Northeastern and the questions about whether he would try out for Canada or the USA’s World Junior team well.

Patrik Nemeth, D: One of the things you can see in a development camp is how much a player has progressed from one year to the next. Nemeth is a guy who looks a lot more polished out there on the ice. He played a full season in the Swedish Elite League in 2010-11, played for Sweden at the World Juniors and fared well. Plays with an edge. Looks like a good two-way defenseman.

John Klingberg, D: What you notice about Klingberg is that he’s a lot bigger than he was a year ago. He’s added some weight. He’s still silky smooth out there. He has a high skill level, great hands and has the potential to be an excellent offensive defenseman. His shot has gotten a lot better of the last year as well. He’s going to play for Jokerit in Finland next season, which the Stars and Klingberg believe will be great for his development.

Hubert Labrie, D: He was one of the players that really caught my eye at camp. He’s nothing flashy, but he battles hard. He was relentless in some of the competitive drills. Really held his own in puck battles with a much bigger Oleksiak and just out-willed others. I asked him to describe his playing style. His response: “In a word? Warrior.” I’d have to agree. He missed most of last season with a knee injury, returned for the end of the season and then played in the QMJHL playoffs with more injuries. I believe one of them was a broken hand. I think there are still some questions where he’ll play next season, but turning pro is a possibility.

Troy Vance, D: He’s the fifth round pick from this summer’s draft and another one of those big kids at 6-6, 200 pounds. He moves well and has some nice skill, but as someone who was working with the players on the ice noted, he is not as polished as Oleksiak. He made the jump from the EJHL to QMJHL in the middle of last season, and handled it well. He’s still a raw prospect, but it looks like there is a lot of potential there.

Jyrki Jokipakka, D: He’s the Stars’ seventh round draft pick from this summer’s draft. He looked pretty good at the camp and was pretty much as advertised. He skates well and it looks like he has some good puck skills.

Jace Coyle, D : A free agent signing out of Medicine Hat, he’ll turn pro this season and will probably end up with the Texas Stars. He had some injury issues in his final season of juniors, but he’s pretty good with the puck.

Mike Bergin, D: I’ve liked him when I’ve seen him at the Dallas camps. He looks like he has the potential to be a two-way guy. Handles the puck well and has a good shot. He’ll be at RPI again next season.

Alex Theriau, D: He’s the 2010 fourth rounder. He’s a slick skater. He was traded to Medicine Hat from Everett within the WHL last season and the move seemed to do him a lot of good. It will be interesting how he does in a full season in Medicine Hat.

FORWARDS

Tomas Vincour, RW: I am not sure that much needs to be said about Vincour, who played the final third of last season in Dallas. He missed the first couple of days on on-ice work because his gear got lost on the flight to Dallas. He looked fine once he got on the ice. He had his ups and downs last season, but he should be in the mix for a roster spot in Dallas this coming season.

Alex Chiasson, RW: You can really see the strides Chiasson, a second round pick in 2009, has made over the past year. He really stood out at this camp. He has excellent size, skill and a great shot. Plus, he’s a right shot. He had an excellent sophomore season at Boston University and expectations are he’ll improve on that this season. Word is that he could turn pro after his junior year. Projected as a power forward.

Reilly Smith, RW: Smith, a third round pick in 2009, is another excellent prospect the Stars have playing in college. He was impressive at the camp and stood out among the group. He played on one of the highest scoring lines in the NCAA this past season, but his two linemates at Miami University have moved on and he’ll be taking on a bigger role this season. He’s got speed and outstanding skill. He’s added some weight as well. He’s a funny guy, too. Like Chiasson, he could turn pro after his junior season.

Scott Glennie, C: Glennie, the first round pick (8^th overall) in 2009, missed the last half of the camp with a sore knee. The tools are all there. He’s got speed, hands, skill. He’s been training with Gary Roberts. He’s making progress. He got off to a slow start last season in juniors, didn’t make Canada’s World Junior team, but rebounded from all that and finished the season strong with Brandon of the WHL. He played a little with the Texas Stars late last season, which should help him as he turns pro full time this season. He's switching from right wing to center, a process that started last season. It will be interesting to see how he does this season.

Brett Ritchie, RW: The second round pick (44^th overall) in this summer’s draft really made an impression at the camp. He skates well, has a really good wrist shot and you could see his compete level and ability to win puck battles in some of the drills. He’s another right shot who projects as a power forward. He and Oleksiak really stood out among this year’s draft class.

Matt Fraser, LW: He was signed as a free agent out of the WHL, and looks like a good prospect. He has good size, shoots the puck well and has a knack for getting himself into good scoring positions. He had a great final season in juniors and put up excellent numbers in the playoffs as Kootenay won the WHL title and advanced to the Memorial Cup. Seems like a level-headed, determined kid.

Emil Molin, C: He’s the fourth pick from this summer’s draft. He’s obviously got skill and hands and you could see his playmaking ability and smarts in some of the drills at the camp. He was one of the younger players at the camp, but he didn’t always look it. It will be interesting to see how much he develops over the next year.

Mathieu Tousignant, C: He already has a couple professional seasons under his belt and played all of last season with the Texas Stars. He’s a grinder, a pest and a hard worker, and he’s got a pretty good skill set.

Scott Winkler, C: I liked Winkler, a third rounder in 2008, when I saw him a few years ago at camp. Still like him. He has a pretty good skill level. He missed time this season at Colorado College due to wrist surgery, but the Stars believe he could be ready to take a step forward this season.

Alex Guptill, LW: A third rounder in last year’s draft, Guptill has some excellent skills. He didn’t have a very good year in the USHL, and was injured as well. He’ll begin play at the University of Michigan this season. The word is he’s a little behind the curve on the maturity front and the hope is that going to Michigan will speed up that process.

Went out to McKinney today to check out a little bit of development camp. I got there late and my watching time got cut short because of the conference calls related to the free-agency signings, but I was able to watch some of the drills and take in a few moments of the recent draft picks like Jamieson Oleksiak, Brett Ritchie, Troy Vance and Emil Molin.

I've seen most of the other Dallas prospects before, so I am pretty familiar with them. This camp, at least for me, is to get my first good look at the new draft picks. I won't read too much into what I see, but it I can usually take something out of it. I usually wait until the camp is over before I offer some thoughts.

I will offer one thought tonight. My opinion of defenseman John Klingberg, the fifth round pick out of Sweden last year, goes up every time I see him.

Tomas Vincour didn't take part in today's session. His luggage got lost on the way here, so he had no gear.

I'll be out there all weekend, watching, taking notes and doing some interviews. Anyway, here's some video from today. Oleksiak (#5), Vance (#42), Scott Glennie (#46) and Matt Fraser (#18) are among the players taking part in the drill. That's Tyler Beskorowany in goal.

A few thoughts and observations on this weekend’s NHL Draft:

* The Stars definitely went with size in this draft and GM Joe Nieuwendyk said it wasn’t a coincidence. The plan was to get some bigger prospects, and I don’t think they sacrificed anything by going that route. The two big defenseman -- Jamieson Oleksiak (6-7/244) and Troy Vance (6-6/200) -- are mobile puck movers. Forward Brett Ritchie (6-3/210) has some skill and offensive upside. So, it wasn’t just size alone. These are some big kids with skill.

*Oleksiak going to the Stars at 14th overall wasn’t a big shocker. He was linked to the Stars in some mock drafts and those compilation rankings I put together just prior to the draft had him ranked 14th. He was going in the Stars’ range. It was much the same with Ritchie, who was projected to go anywhere from the early to late second round. The Stars took him in the middle of the round.

*The pick of center Emil Molin in the fourth round was a surprise. I couldn’t find him on any of the rankings, but this is why teams have their own scouts do the work. Molin put up impressive numbers in Swedish juniors. Defenseman John Klingberg, taken by the Stars in the fifth round last year, wasn’t on any of the rankings and he’s turned out to be a promising prospect. Very promising. We’ll see is the Stars have found another good prospect out of Sweden with Molin.

*The Stars nabbed a sleeper in the fifth round with Vance, who was basically off the radar until he jumped from the Eastern Junior Hockey League to major junior in Canada. Red Line Report listed him as one of the mid-round sleepers in the draft worth a look because of how well he played after making the jump to the Quebec Major Junior Hockey league. The Stars played a role in Vance going to QMJHL. Again, this was the Stars scouting staff toiling away and, who knows, they may have found another fifth round gem. Time will tell.

*Their sixth round pick, Matej Stransky, has just started his transition to North America. His numbers with Saskatoon were OK, but he did put some impressive numbers in Czech junior hockey. It will be interesting how he does next season.

*Defenseman Jyrki Jokipakka, the seventh round pick, played in Finland’s top league and also had a good showing at the World Juniors. He’s got some size at 6-3 and mobility.

*Overall, it looks like a good group of picks. You won’t know how good a draft it was for a few years. None of these guys is expected to have an immediate impact. The Stars don’t rush prospects and will give them time to develop. If they get a couple of NHL players out of it, that’s pretty good. If they get more than a couple, that’s even better. The reason teams don’t like to lose picks is because the more you have the better the chances that you’ll get some prospects that will develop into good NHL players. Drafting 17-, 18- and 19-year-olds and projecting where they’ll be in five years isn’t an exact science. The wider you cast the net, the better chance you’ll haul in a few.

*ESPN.com’s Draft Blog gave the Stars a grade of B for their 2011 draft. Gare Joyce writes:

“The Stars are in flux because of ownership and the impending departure of Brad Richards. Whether they came away with a new identity here or not is an open question. They did come away bigger, though. Jamieson Oleksiak is a beast. I don't remember a tall kid as solidly built, and it's not early maturing. He still has room to grow and pack on more muscle. Brett Ritchie is the kind of slowly emerging player that the Stars have had success with (e.g., Jamie Benn). I don't know if Ritchie can score but he has all the moving parts (skating, size, decent puck skills). I didn't get much of a sense of urgency and passion in his game, though.”

*It will be interesting to see what happens with Oleksiak, who said Friday that he was unsure if he would return to Northeastern next season or go another route on his development path. Nieuwendyk said Saturday he “suspects” Oleksiak will spend another year of two in college.

*It was big weekend for Dallas-Fort Worth hockey as three kids who were born in this area and got their start in hockey here were drafted Saturday. Plano native Stefan Noesen went 21st overall to Ottawa. Noesen was a guy the Stars liked, but the Stars weren’t going to take him at 14 and he wasn’t going to be around at 44. Plano’s Blake Coleman went to New Jersey in the third round with the pick the Devils got from the Stars in the Jamie Langenbrunner deal. Coppell's Colin Jacobs went to the Buffalo in the fourth round. The Stars deserve a lot of credit for this. They didn’t show up and play back in 1993; they did a nice job of helping the game grow at the grass-roots level by building rinks all over the area.

The Dallas Stars used their fifth round pick (135th overall) to pick 6-6, 200 pound defenseman Troy Vance from Victoriaville of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.

Vance, who models his style of play after Buffalo's Tyler Myers, said the Stars are the team that helped him make the jump from the EMJHL to the QMJHL and that improved his stock in the draft.

"It's amazing to [get drafted by the Stars] because they're the ones that helped me get out to Victoriaville," Vance said. "It all comes back around to them. They got me going."

Here's a profile: